Was It Ever True?

Driving home I thought about what had happened. Yes, I was hurt beyond imagination. But it became clear that what Bev really wanted was a nice easy life and she also wanted to have adulterous sex. I knew that I couldn't live with that. She had now demonstrated this desire to me twice, that I knew of, and probably more, behind my back. I was a fool to think that she had or was going to change.

By the time I got home I had acknowledged the reality of the situation. We were through. Had she not pulled this behind-the-back practice, I might have been minded to be generous. But since she had, and I figured if I were generous, I would only be benefiting that bastard Buster. I decided I was going to cut her off at the roots.

Bev didn't know that pictures had been made of many of their escapades and there were some that were documented to have been taken at the reunion. Penny had seen to it that I got copies of the reunion picture for my future use. Now that I remember, she had said "future use," not "possible future use." I had never looked at them. I didn't need to.

About nine in the morning I placed a call to Bev's house. Her mother answered and I could tell from her voice that she was upset. She told me they had received my message, but by the time she got the message to Bev, it was too late to call. Finally, she told me Bev was still in bed, that she had a hard night last night.

I said, "Yeah, I know."

She asked me what I meant. I told her that wasn't important, to please get Bev up, that I needed to speak to her, and I would call back in fifteen minutes. She started to say something as I hung up.

When I called back her mother answered and told me she still wasn't up yet and that Bev would call me this afternoon before she headed home. She wasn't up to talking now.

I let myself simmer down a moment and then said, "Mom, Bev is supposed to be home this afternoon before supper, not just leaving. Please go in and tell her right now that I am fully aware of what is going on and that it would be in her best interest that she come to the phone right now."

Her mom said, "Cliff, please be patient. Bev is ok but she had a very bad time last night. I'm not at liberty to discuss it now, but please just be patient. She'll call this afternoon."

I waited a moment and said, "Mom, if her being taken to jail last night is all I needed to talk to her about, then I would wait. But there is a hell of a lot more to it than a few hours in jail."

It was absolutely silent on the other end of the line for a few moments and I wasn't sure I was still connected. Then her mom told me in almost a whisper to wait a minute and she would get her. A moment later I heard Bev scream, "What, How could he know?" Her mom said something and then a few moments later Bev came on.

She had regained some of her composure and said, in an almost syrupy sweet voice, "Hi honey. What's this you were telling mom about me being in jail? What made you say such a thing?"

I waited a moment and then said, "Bev, please don't call me honey any more. I'm sorry about reminding your mom that you were in jail. So knock off the shit"

Using a firm, and probably menacing voice I said, "To be correct I should have said you and Buster were taken to jail. You have apparently been meeting and fucking that bastard since your folks moved back, closer to Philadelphia."

There was silence. Finally she came back weakly with, "I'll be home tonight. Can we discuss this then?"

I told her that there was nothing to discuss and that all she needed to do was listen to what I said right now.

She replied, "Please Cliff, not here where mom and dad can hear."

I said, "First of all Bev, I don't think your folks are going to hear anything new. Apparently you didn't hear or understand what I just said. I didn't mention or say anything about a discussion. I told you that you had better listen to what I have to tell you right now."

Then I told her that she didn't have a "home" to come to anymore. I informed her that the house would go on the market Monday and that she could come and get whatever she wanted before the house sold. I let her know that I had refinanced the house after the reunion and that we could expect to split the equity of no more than 10-15 thousand dollars when it was sold. I told her our savings account had about five thousand dollars and half was hers.

I could hear her starting to sputter and I went on by telling her for her information I paid myself a salary of twenty-five hundred dollars a month and that when the divorce was final, due to her infidelity she could expect to receive, at most, one thousand dollars a month in alimony and that I would fight to pay her the least amount possible. She could keep her car but she would have to take over the $525/month payments immediately, that there were only thirty four payments left and I would make no more payments.

She started swearing at me and when I told her about the alimony she screamed that I made a lot more than that and that she was going to sue for ten thousand dollars monthly alimony.

She went ballistic when I told her that I certainly did have more than twenty five hundred a month to live on. I told her that in addition to the salary, the company deposited a monthly dividend to my off-shore bank and that she couldn't touch it.

She screamed more profanities and I heard her dad yell at her that he was going to slap her foul mouth across the room if she didn't stop.

I calmly said, "I thought you didn't want your folks to hear all of this. You have left me no choice but to ask for a divorce and you had better get a job fast because "cock head" sure can't support himself, let alone two of you. And, by-the-way, to be perfectly legal about this, you will have access to $1250 per month from our checking account until the divorce is final.

Again, more profanities and the phone went dead shortly after I heard a sharp crack (I believe her dad had actually slapped her hard) as her dad told her to get the hell out of the house until she could behave like a lady.

A few minutes later my cell phone rang. It was Bev's dad. He apologized for her conduct but he wanted to let me know that Bev was packing to come home and she was bringing Buster with her.

I told him that I too was sorry but for him not to worry about me. I was removing my personal items from the house and would be out before she could get there. In our talk, he confirmed that he had indeed slapped her. He started to cry when he told me she had a terribly swollen face and that he had never slapped anyone before.

This was the final straw. There is no way that I could love or live with a woman who is so wrapped up in herself that she doesn't even care when she is hurting those who love her. My heart ached for her Mom and Dad.

* * * * * *

That was five years ago. As I look at things now, I guess I have to admit that being a successful business man does not necessarily wipe out the nerd element. I have doubled the size of my business and I am looking to double again in less than five years.

I have only seen Bev twice since that night. Our divorce was final a year later. In the divorce, the judge showed a little leniency to her because I had withheld financial information that a spouse should have been sharing. But, because of her transgressions, the judge informed her that he was only awarding her 20% of what she could have received had she not been so blatantly unfaithful. He awarded her $800/mo. On our anniversary each year I send a check for $9,600 to cover the coming year. I do it that way so that I don't have the constant reminder in front of me and to remind her of what she threw away.

As I look back on my short former married life, I can't help but recall the numerous times Bev told me that she loved me. I have had to ask myself on many occasions, "Was it ever true?"

* * * * * *

That is the story of my short marriage to Bev. For the readers who would like a little more closure, read on. For those who have had enough, stop here

* * * * * *

To begin with, the night I put an end to things, as you know, the two of them were hauled off to jail, Bev was allowed to call her parents and they, with some difficulty, were able to arrange bail. It's not easy to do anything after ten o'clock in a small town. Her dad paid the motel and she returned to the court house the next week and everything got straightened out. Any charges against her were dropped. Buster spent two days as the city's guest before they could prove the stolen car report was erroneous. He was released Monday.

From the records I have recovered and using information supplied by Bev's folks, it seems that this was at least the twelfth rendezvous for the two of them (seven before the reunion and five since the reunion). When I returned home I had checked the credit card statements (Bev had kept them all neatly filed) and found seven airline and hotel charges going back to shortly after we were married. The charges were for Philadelphia and they all coincided with planned trips I had made out of town.

On this last trip, Buster had brought Jimmy with him. Jimmy and Janice had hit it off and the night I had watched for activity, they had a foursome that night. The next night, Bev and Buster wanted time to themselves and Bev had rented the motel room.

Of course, Bev couldn't get Buster out of jail so she spent the two days with Janice. Her dad had thrown her out. Bev came home with Buster in tow on Monday. I had removed my personal things and had moved to an apartment and then taken two weeks vacation to Aruba. They tried to find me and I know Buster's primary reason for coming with Bev was to bust my head in.

Any way, I don't know who did what, but they trashed the house. The broke furniture, windows, and china; put holes in the drywall; ripped light fixtures from the walls and ceilings; emptied the refrigerator and canned goods on the carpet; and even threw a chair through the glass shower. In short, they made a horrible mess.

The realtor called me Tuesday night and told me about the damage. I told her to have it cleaned up and repaired and then send me the bill. I would deduct the cost from Bev's proceeds when we closed. When the house was cleaned up, it cleared twelve thousand dollars. The clean up and repair cost four thousand dollars so in the divorce proceedings, I got six thousand, plus I recovered the four thousand for damages, and Bev ended up netting two thousand.

Bev tried to claim that she had not trashed the house. I was able to produce three neighbors who had witnessed the trashing. She decided not to fight the issue.

When Buster and Jimmy returned to Philadelphia, they had been gone for over a week. Their jobs were gone and they had to find new ones. I understand they had to look for over two weeks and had to pan-handle and sleep in Buster's car during that time.

Shortly after gaining employment again, Buster essentially became a ward of the state. He couldn't work at construction because of permanent injuries he received from a fellow construction worker who expressed his displeasure to Buster for fucking his wife while he was away. He began working a telephone for a telemarketing outfit.

Two weeks after the incident at Bev's home town, I met her dad for lunch. When we met, it was obvious that he was very nervous. We had a wonderful meal and then he started the conversation by telling me how sorry he was for the way things had turned out. He stated several times how grateful he was that I had tried to help Bev and that his heart was broken when he found what had happened.

He told me how the troubles had started as she developed into a beautiful young woman in high school. She had been very popular and unfortunately she seemed to migrate to the trashier set of friends. He had become aware of her sexual activities during the later part of her sophomore year. He had talked with her, as did her mom, to no avail.

The shocker came when he told me that Buster had knocked her up at the end of her junior year. Fortunately they were able to hide her abortion with the summer break. She had never mentioned an abortion to me. In addition, she was treated for STD just as school began again. This was when he banned Buster from setting foot in the house again.

He didn't know until much later that her pregnancy and touch with the STD may not have been of Buster's doing, but most likely was. He didn't know until then that Bev had become the high school slut.

* * * * * *

Bev's story is rather pathetic. Two weeks after our break-up (apparently after Buster found a job) she went to Philadelphia and lived with Buster and Jimmy. I don't know what she did for income and can only guess.

Two months later, she had an (another) abortion. I know it wasn't mine since I had been using condoms since the day we dropped our family plans. It's ironic that I was ready to stop using them and begin our family when she came home from what became that fateful weekend. Whether it was Buster's or not, I don't know, but again, it most likely was. I know she split from Buster about six months later (about the time he was worked over by the unhappy fellow worker).

She returned to her parents and is a waitress in the local coffee shop. She has put on about forty pounds and doesn't look like a cheer leader any more. I understand she has reformed a lot because her dad holds her on a short leash. She is allowed to live at home as long as she lives by his rules which I hear are pretty demanding.

Most of my information has come from her dad. I don't visit them since Bev is there but he and I talk several times a year.

I received a call from him yesterday and he will be in town in a couple of weeks. He has asked if we could get together; that he would like to talk to me and clear the air about a lot of things. I don't know if I am looking forward to the talk, but maybe it will answer some of the unanswered questions that still lurk in my mind.

* * * * * *

This has been a very interesting week.

I met with Bev's dad and he filled me in on a lot of things. Most of them I didn't care about any more. But, he hit me between the eyes when he told me that Bev had finally confessed to him that she had really married me for my money and stability. She just couldn't pull herself away from Buster and the rough and exhibitionist sex that he offered.

She had confided to him that she regretted her mistake, letting exhibitionism and sex take a primary role in her life. It wasn't until after he had knocked her up the second time, while she was living with him in Philadelphia, that she came face-to-face with her error and realized that she was just a sex toy to Buster.

He had whored her out to make money to live on and she got only what he gave her to buy groceries and booze. He just walked out on her and left town when he found out she was pregnant.

Worse, the abortion was really more a butcher job. She will never be able to conceive again even if she can find a decent person and get married.

I hadn't understood before that Buster's beating had not occurred while he was living in Philadelphia. It occurred after he had gone to Atlanta after dumping Bev.

A friend of Bev's had run it to Buster in Atlanta recently. The friend didn't even recognize him when Buster addressed him. Buster is now a pan handling street bum. He has lost a lot of weight, his teeth are broken and yellow, and he sports a scraggly beard and long hair. He has screwed up a lot of people and now he has screwed himself.

Do I feel sorry for him? I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

* * * * * *

And now for the good part.

On Saturday, the same week I met with Bev's Dad, I took Penny out for dinner and dancing. Her husband was killed in a private plane crash about a month after the reunion. We started dating about four months ago and tonight I presented her with a ring. The best part of that scenario is that she accepted.

When we first started dating she was pretty well convinced that she didn't want to marry again but she was glad for some companionship. We were well suited because after what I had been through, I didn't know if I wanted a permanent relationship again, either.

However, on the fifth date she asked me to her home for dinner where I met her two children. The children and I hit it off immediately. I know it was then that Penny began to reassess her thinking.

She realized her children (4 and 6) really needed a father and we found that we shared many common likes and dislikes. By the middle of our third month, I think the die was cast. She was still a little hesitant, but that night, Saturday, I had decided to go for broke and she said, "YES."

We were married a couple of month later and have just celebrated our twenty-fifth anniversary. We added another child, a little boy, to our family about eighteen months after we were married.

I sold my business and retired two years ago. The children are grown and on their own and we moved to a lovely home on Hilton Head Island last year.

I rarely think about my past life. Bev's folks both passed away several years ago. It was sad, but a relief. The talks with Bev's dad were never very happy and it kept the specter of my first marriage alive. I have no idea where Bev is now and it may sound heartless, but I really don't much care although I must admit that on the rare occasions when she crosses my thought, I can't help but feel a little sorry for her. And yes, when confronted with any thoughts of her, I have to acknowledge that she completed the transformation from nerd to Joe Average guy for me (well maybe a little hornier than Joe Average).

With all the waters having passed under the bridge, I'm happy now and you don't know how I relish hearing, "I love you" from Penny. I know that YES, it is true.